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1977 French Grand Prix
3 July |officialname = LXIII Grand Prix de France |circuit = Dijon-Prenois |location = Dijon, France |circuittype = Permanent Racing Facility |lapdistance = 3.800 |laps = 80 |distance = 304.000 |pole = Mario Andretti |polenation = USA |poleteam = |poletime = 1:12.21 |fastestlap = 1:13.75 |fastestlapdriver = Mario Andretti |fastestlapnation = USA |fastestlapteam = |fastestlapnumber = 76 |winner = Mario Andretti |winnernation = USA |winnerteam = |second = John Watson |secondnation = GBR |secondteam = |third = James Hunt |thirdnation = GBR |thirdteam = }} The 1977 French Grand Prix, otherwise officially known as the LXIII Grand Prix de France, was the ninth race of the 1977 FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Dijon-Prenois on 3 July, 1977.'GRAND PRIX RESULTS: FRENCH GP, 1977', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2016), http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr289.html, (Accessed 02/05/2018) At first glance it seemed as if the race had been dominated by Mario Andretti, who claimed pole, fastest lap and victory, although this was far from the truth as the American would only lead a single lap. Qualifying would see Andretti claim a decisive pole position on the extended Dijon-Prenois circuit, lapping half a second faster than James Hunt in second. Andretti's teammate Gunnar Nilsson was next, underlining the inherent pace of the Lotus 78, while John Watson started fourth, just ahead of the home hero Jacques Laffite in the . Once again, however, the Lotus of Andretti would be beaten off the line by the car alongside, meaning it was Hunt's that jumped into the lead. Indeed, Andretti's start was so poor that he fell behind both Watson and Laffite, with Nilsson getting caught behind his slow starting teammate. Andretti would vault back ahead of Laffite on the second lap, while Hunt and Watson engaged in a private scrap for the lead. Ultimately, the defending World Champion was powerless to resist the Ulsterman, however, with Watson slipping past on lap five before disappearing up the road. It took Andretti a further twelve laps to pass the McLaren, a period that had allowed Watson to escape five seconds clear. The gap remained fairly constant for a time, until Andretti began to set a series of fastest laps to inch his way onto the back of the . Indeed, with just one lap to go it seemed as if Watson, who had fended off a couple of attempts from the American, was on to win the race, only for his Alfa F12 to cough on the run out of the first corner. That hesitation was enough for Andretti to sweep into the lead and claim the win, while Watson had to cruise his car to the flag. Andretti duly swept home a second and a half clear of Watson to claim victory, while Hunt had a quiet run to third. Nilsson was another to enjoy a quiet drive to fourth ahead of Niki Lauda, while Carlos Reutemann got the other into the points. Elsewhere, tyre troubles had denied Laffite a strong home result, leaving him in seventh, while Championship leader Jody Scheckter suffered an accident in the closing stages. Background F1 headed to the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of France for the 1977 edition of the French Grand Prix, setting up shop at a revised Dijon-Prenois circuit.D.S.J., 'The Grand Prix of France: A nice little affair', motorsportmagazine.com, (Motor Sport, 01/08/1977), https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/august-1977/50/grand-prix-france, (Accessed 02/05/2018) Although it was not the most popular venue for the historic race, the Dijon-Prenois layout had been improved since the series last visit in 1974 French Grand Prix, with over half a kilometre added to the circuit in the middle of the serpentine section. The extra loop added another changing radius corner, with the extra challenge of a change in altitude, while also adding around fifteen seconds to the lap. Into the entry list and there was a large stir caused in France when announced their intention to start at their home race, only to decide against fielding their new RS01. Almost all French hopes therefore landed on the shoulders of the all-French squad, with Jacques Laffite among the favourites for the win after his victory in Sweden. Adding to the Frenchman's cause was the fact that he was being advised by Renault's main driver Jean-Pierre Jabouille, and had completed a very impressive test at Dijon-Prenois in the build-up to the race. Other, less anticipated, French hopes were to be found at and ATS, as well as an anticipated second car at . At Tyrrell, expectation was placed upon Patrick Depailler once again, who was to get a wide-track version of the P34 to alleviate their stability issues. Teammate Ronnie Peterson would race with his usual charger, although both cars were to be hampered by the fact that tyre supplier Goodyear were focusing on their standard tyre sizes, hampering the future development of the P34's quartet of tiny front wheels. For ATS and their independently run it would be Jean-Pierre Jarier at the wheel, although with no budget to develop the car there was little hope of the Frenchman getting into the top of the field. Ensign, meanwhile, announced that they would be running a second car alongside Clay Regazzoni in France, signing up promising Formula Two racer Patrick Tambay to join the Swiss racer. Yet, time would run out for Ensign to build their new MN07, leaving Tambay kicking his heels in the paddock as the cars headed out for practice on Friday. That said, would decide to give Tambay a drive in practice, although he would have to wait until Saturday's "untimed" session to try the TS19. He would, temporarily, replace Australian racer Larry Perkins in the #18 car, while Vittorio Brambilla celebrated his 50th Grand Prix in the Beta sponsored TS19. The cars themselves were unchanged after the Swedish Grand Prix, with the team also well down the list of customers awaiting one of the updated engines filtering their way down the grid. Speaking of updated Cosworths, were set to get another of the "ultimate" DFVs in France, this unit once again handed to team leader Mario Andretti. The American, as well as teammate Gunnar Nilsson, expected his Lotus 78 to suit the Dijon-Prenois circuit, with the smooth track surface thought to compliment the 78's pursuit of "ground effect". The Norfolk squad were further aided by an extra provision of tyres from Goodyear, which again sent their softest compounds to the top teams to prepare for a potential tyre war with Michelin. Likewise, had received a compliment of "softs" from Goodyear, although Cosworth had held fire on giving them an "ultimate" DFV for the time being. Regardless, defending World Champion James Hunt would continue to use his "super" DFV in the steadily evolving M26, which sported some new brakes but was otherwise unchanged since the visit to Anderstorp. His teammate Jochen Mass carried on with the ageing M23, with additional M23s entered privately for Brett Lunger and Emilio de Villota. Elsewhere, Championship leaders thought that they had cracked the handling issues that had plagued their updated 312T2s, tracing the issue back to the rear axles. This resulted in a new chassis for lead driver Niki Lauda, which sported some redesigned air intakes and ducting, ready to accept the revised rear-axle layout when it was ready for the British Grand Prix. Carlos Reutemann, meanwhile, was left with the car in which he had raced in Sweden, while Lauda's old car became the spare. Championship leader Jody Scheckter, meanwhile, had the choice of three s in France, although after test week the South African star was down to just the newest WR3 and the oldest, WR1. He would ultimately nominate the unchanged WR3 as his race car, with the team receiving another uniquely tuned Cosworth, fresh from the factory, which was thought to fit in between the units sent to Lotus and McLaren in terms of power output. Wolf were also among the "premium" customers of Goodyear, meaning Scheckter had a lot of compounds to play with in Dijon. Elsewhere, were back with their legion of factory and privately entered cars, although factory duo Alex Ribeiro and Ian Scheckter were told that the new 771 was not going to be ready in time for the trip to Dijon. They were therefore left with their upgraded 761Bs, while the only ex-factory version of the car was back in the hands of Arturo Merzario. Williams Grand Prix Engineering were back with their customised 761 for Patrick Nève, while Brian Henton had entered his 761 for Henri Pescarolo, although neither car nor driver made it to Dijon. were boosted by the return of F1 rookie Riccardo Patrese to the fray, the young Italian replacing boss Jackie Oliver to partner Alan Jones once again. were also back with a familiar trio of cars for Rupert Keegan, Harald Ertl and Héctor Rebaque, while had built a new P207 for Conny Andersson, although many observers questioned why they had expended the effort. Completing the field would be David Purley in his , as well as the newly rebuilt for Emerson Fittipaldi. Additional entries should have seen the Swiss built Apollon Fly make its debut with Loris Kessel, but it would, once again, fail to materialise. Into the Championship and it had been a case of status quo at the summit after the Swedish Grand Prix, with none of the major contenders scoring big points. As such it was still Jody Scheckter leading Lauda by a solitary point, although both Reutemann and Andretti had inched their way closer to the fight. Elsewhere, Mass had moved into the top five, moving ahead of Nilsson as he did so, while Swedish Grand Prix winner Laffite had shot into the top ten. Likewise there had been little change in the International Cup for Constructors in Sweden, although Ferrari had technically managed to extend their lead to sixteen points. Team Lotus-Ford Cosworth remained their closest challengers, two ahead of Wolf-Ford Cosworth, while McLaren-Ford Cosworth remained cut adrift in fourth. Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth likewise remained a distant fifth, while Ligier-Matra had finally got on the board in seventh. Entry List The full entry list for the is outlined below: * * Patrick Tambay also used the #18 car in practice but failed to qualify.'France 1977: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), http://www.statsf1.com/en/1977/france/qualification.aspx, (Accessed 02/05/2018) Practice Overview Qualifying Practice/qualifying would be staged across Friday and Saturday, following the F.O.C.A. approved format of three "timed" sessions supported by a single "untimed" period. Friday would host two the of "timed" sessions, while Saturday's running would be split between the "untimed" period in the morning, before the final "timed" session in the afternoon. Furthermore, the sudden appearance of summer in eastern France meant that there was plenty of running, an important fact given that there was no real reference time for the revised Dijon-Prenois circuit. Report It was not so much a driver but a car that came to dominate the first "timed" session on Friday, as both Mario Andretti and Gunnar Nilsson topped the timesheets from the early stages. Unsurprisingly it was the former who was faster, ending the session with a 1:12.95, with Nilsson a fraction slower at 1:13.03. Indeed, the closeness of their times was made all the more remarkable given their contrasting styles, with Andretti's smooth rhythmic driving the complete reverse to the Swede's attempts to almost dance the car around the circuit. Indeed, the rather serene image of as whole proved to be a stark contrast to their major rivals, with looking a world away from their recent form. Both John Watson and Hans-Joachim Stuck would be delayed on Friday morning, the Ulsterman by an ignition fault, while Stuck had to use the spare car as his engine failed completely. Elsewhere the customised of Patrick Nève chewed through a front hub carrier, while the battled a series of familiar engine troubles, despite having a new car. Ultimately, however, the Lotus domination would be challenged during the Friday afternoon session, with Brabham finally overcoming their issues from the morning. Indeed, Watson not only got among the Loti but got ahead of them, ending the day with a 1:12.83, beating Andretti by 0.03s to claim provisional pole overnight. Nilsson matched his earlier time and so remained third, still a tenth clear of a happy James Hunt, who was steadily getting to grips with the new M26. Away from the peak of the field and there were still some notable strugglers, including Championship leader Jody Scheckter. The South African racer was battling a seemingly incurable misfire in the newest , although the spare car was enduring the exact same issue. He still managed to record a top-ten time among the out-of-sorts team, with both Niki Lauda and Carlos Reutemann unhappy with their yet-to-be-updated 312T2s. Elsewhere, Larry Perkins was having trouble taming his , a worrying position for the Australian to be in as John Surtees was seen talking to reserve Patrick Tambay. Over at there was quite a stir when Alex Ribeiro was credited with a 1:13.89, a time that would put him in the top ten, although this was soon corrected to a more realistic 1:15.89, much to the Brazilian's dismay. Indeed, that time left him among the seven set to miss-out on a spot on the grid come the end of Friday's running. Things remained settled overnight into Saturday, meaning the teams were able to get their cars serviced and ready for the day's running without issue. The only real change came at Surtees, with Tambay, unsurprisingly, getting strapped into Perkins' car for the "untimed" session in the morning, with the Australian looking unlikely to qualify regardless of the lost track time. Indeed, in a somewhat rare turn of events all of the teams used the "untimed" session on Saturday morning for what it was for: to test their cars on high fuel and race tyres. attempts to qualify Larry Perkins' in the final practice session.]]Having tried out the car in race mode, Tambay was duly given the #18 car in the final "timed" session after the lunch break, although the Frenchman was ultimately unable to beat Perkins' time. They would both fall shy of the mark by over a second, with Ribeiro also dropping out with his factory March. Also out were Nève, Brett Lunger, Harald Ertl, Héctor Rebaque and Conny Andersson, even though there was less than four seconds covering the entire field. Out front, meanwhile, there would be a surprise fight for pole, as Hunt joined the fray early on with a 1:12.73 early on. He effectively replaced Watson in the fight, who was unable to match his pace from Friday afternoon in the Brabham. Even Andretti seemed unlikely to topple the defending World Champion, until the American put together a shattering run in the final minutes to settle for a 1:12.21. Indeed, the late rally by Lotus would extend to teammate Nilsson's car too, although the Swede just fell shy of Hunt's time and so had to settle for third. That left him third on the grid ahead of Watson, while Jacques Laffite put the into fifth in front of his home fans. Reutemann was best of the Ferraris in sixth, with Lauda down in ninth, while Vittorio Brambilla was a standout name in the middle of the field in his Surtees. Qualifying Results The full qualifying results for the are outlined below: *'Bold' indicates a driver's best/qualifying time. *T Indicates a test/spare car. Grid Race Raceday dawned much as Saturday had ended, with clear skies and warm temperatures suggesting that summer was set to stay beyond the 2:00pm start time. Warm-up, which featured the two best non-qualifiers Alex Ribeiro and Patrick Nève, passed without issue, while a series of backed races kept the crowds entertained as the Grand Prix cars were prepared. Indeed, there would be no issues as the drivers completed their parade/warm-up lap, with all twenty-two qualifiers lining up on the grid to await the flash of the starter's lights. Report It proved to be an uncharacteristically poor start from pole sitter Mario Andretti, with the American racer spinning up his rear wheels as the lights flashed to green. His first mistake of the weekend allowed James Hunt streak into the lead unopposed, with John Watson and Jacques Laffite following him through. Andretti's poor start also compromised teammate Gunnar Nilsson, meaning the two Loti entered the first corner in fourth and fifth, with Carlos Reutemann leading the rest through. It proved to be a very clean start to the race for the first half of the opening lap, until Jochen Mass bounced himself into the air off the side of Reutemann's . The German crashed back to terra firma before skating off onto the grass, and only managed to rejoin as the last driver in the field, Riccardo Patrese flashed past. Indeed, the German would have a rather lonely trip back to the pits, where his broken steering would be fixed by a single strike to a steering arm. As Mass crawled around, teammate Hunt completed the opening tour a few yards ahead of Watson, Laffite and Andretti, although the American would dive past the on the brakes at the start of the second lap. Nilsson was next, hoping to profit from Andretti's impending dive, with Jody Scheckter and Vittorio Brambilla on his tail. Reutemann, meanwhile, would drop out of the top ten after Mass' glancing blow, leaving him in a fight with Rupert Keegan, while Patrese's awful start left him staring at the back of Fittipaldi's car. battles at the back of the pack with Emerson Fittipaldi.]]The following laps would see the top three of Hunt, Watson and Andretti pull clear of the rest of the field, leaving Laffite to fend off a half-hearted challenge from Nilsson. Elsewhere, Ian Scheckter and Emerson Fittipaldi were scrapping at the back of the pack with Patrese and Jean-Pierre Jarier, until the latter threw his car into the barriers all on his own. His retirement was soon followed by David Purley in the , crashing a few yards up the road, before Patrese's race came to a premature end with an engine failure. Back with the leaders and it soon became clear that Hunt was holding up both Watson and Andretti, a fact proved on lap five when the elbowed its way into the lead at the start of lap five. Indeed, the Ulsterman duly disappeared up the road as Andretti launched his first assault on the , although his early efforts were repulsed. Behind, Niki Lauda was methodically climbing through the field in his Ferrari, moving into the top six with a move on Jody Scheckter, while Brambilla dumped himself down the order with a spin. It would take a sustained attack from Andretti to finally get his Lotus up into second, a dive on the brakes into turn one at the start of lap 17 ultimately getting the job done on Hunt. By this stage Watson had built a five second lead, an advantage that would grow to as much as six seconds before Andretti began to consistently chew into it. Hunt was steadily dropped by the American, safe in the knowledge that Laffite, Nilsson and Lauda were about to fight one another almost ten seconds behind, while Scheckter awaited impending challenges from Alan Jones and Reutemann for seventh. As fights at the top of the field brewed, some among the lower orders decided to try and change their fortunes with visits to the pits for fresh tyres. Ronnie Peterson was the first to blink, deciding that fighting with teammate Patrick Depailler had damaged his front left tyres too much, with Brambilla following him in with a similar issue. Depailler was set to follow his teammate in on the following lap, only for Hans-Joachim Stuck to slam into the side of the at the end of the start/finish straight. Depailler was left sat in the dirt with smashed front suspension, while Stuck scrambled away from the scene with minor damage to his rear wing. The race became rather tame after that, with no major changes coming in any of the various battles coming until lap 50, when Watson began to lap the drivers in the middle of the pack. A couple of unlucky breaks for the Ulsterman allowed Andretti to halve the gap to just three seconds in a little over a lap. Behind, Laffite, Nilsson and Lauda were all exchanging blows for fourth, although it would all come to an end when Stuck involved himself in their fight. Indeed, the German found himself in the midst of their scrap for several laps, holding up all three until finally losing control moments after Nilsson had elbowed Laffite out of the way. The Brabham spun across the track on the exit of the first corner, and while Nilsson jinked one-way with Lauda, Laffite went to the left, and duly hit the German as he came back across the circuit. A distraught Laffite was left with a shattered nose cone, meaning he had to limp back to the pits, while Stuck was out as the impact had broken a wire to the starter motor, something which would have pleased his victims over the previous hour. Elsewhere, the Ian Scheckter/Fittipaldi fight had been getting more and more brutal, until the South African racer misjudged a cut-back move on the Brazilian and broke his nose. Reutemann, meanwhile, had elbowed his way past Jones and Jody Scheckter to move into seventh, although Jones was soon to go out of the race when a drive shaft failed. Jones' disappearance was soon to be followed by that of Scheckter, as the soon developed a misfire, an issue that would ultimately result in the South African getting nudged off the road by Clay Regazzoni. charges after John Watson in his Lotus 78 having lost out at the start.]]Out front, meanwhile, Andretti used the last of the traffic to draw right onto the back of Watson, with the Lotus inches off the back of the Brabham with just ten laps to go. Yet, no matter how close the American got at the start of the start/finish straight, the Ulsterman would be out of reach by the end of it, the F12 proving too potent for the tuned V8. Indeed, it seemed as if Andretti would have to settle for second, even with Reutemann's attempts to stay on the lead lap that held up Watson's sprint for the lead. Onto the final lap and Watson still held his narrow margin over the Lotus, and as they came through the first corner, the only major overtaking opportunity, it seemed as if the race was run. Yet, coming out of the new loop the Alfa coughed as it pulled up the hill, allowing Andretti to suddenly pounce on the outside of the following left-hander. It was a brave move by the American, with the two running virtually tyre-to-tyre through to the exit, until a second cough from the Alfa F12 allowed the Lotus to shoot ahead. Indeed, it was only a few seconds later that Andretti streaked across the line to claim victory, just a second and a half ahead of Watson, who completely ran out of fuel on the slowing down lap. Hunt cruised home a solid, if lonely, third ahead of Nilsson, while Lauda picked up Watson on his way back to the pits after finishing fifth. Reutemann claimed the final point in sixth after his adventures early on, while Laffite recovered to eighth behind Regazzoni. Results The full results for the are outlined below: ** Fittipaldi was still classified despite retiring as he had completed 90% of the race distance. *† Ian Scheckter, in contrast, could not be classified as he had failed to complete 90% of the race distance. Milestones * started their 25th race as a constructor.'1977 French GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2018), http://www.chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=1977&gp=French%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 02/05/2018) * 50th Grand Prix start for Vittorio Brambilla.'9. France 1977', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), http://www.statsf1.com/en/1977/france.aspx, (Accessed 02/05/2018) * Arturo Merzario entered a Grand Prix for the 50th time. * Alex Ribeiro and David Purley entered their tenth Grand Prix. * Maiden entry for Patrick Depailler. * Fifth career victory for Mario Andretti. * claimed their 62nd victory as a constructor. ** Engine partner had their 102nd win. Standings Victory propelled Mario Andretti up into second in the Championship, and just a point behind new Championship leader Niki Lauda. Both therefore moved ahead of Jody Scheckter, whose third non-score in a row meant his Championship prospects were beginning to unravel at an alarming rate. Carlos Reutemann, meanwhile, would drop to fourth, just ahead of Gunnar Nilsson, while John Watson finally breached the top ten. were left on 50 points after the French Grand Prix of 1977 despite both Lauda and Reutemann scoring, the result of rules regarding point scoring in 1977. As such, had closed to within seven points of the Italian firm at the halfway point of the Championship, while were paying the price for only fielding one car, slipping back in third. and continued their upward climbs up the order, while slipped away. Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown. References Images and Videos: * F1-history, 'Patrick Tambay (France 1977)', deviantart.com, (DeviantArt, 15/10/2013), https://f1-history.deviantart.com/art/Patrick-Tambay-France-1977-393387896, (Accessed 04/05/2018) * F1-history, 'Ian Scheckter (France 1977)', deviantart.com, (DeviantArt, 31/10/2013), https://f1-history.deviantart.com/art/Ian-Scheckter-France-1977-410691957, (Accessed 04/05/2018) * F1-history, 'Mario Andretti (France 1977)', deviantart.com, (DeviantArt, 31/10/2013), https://f1-history.deviantart.com/art/Mario-Andretti-France-1977-410691426, (Accessed 04/05/2018) References: Category:1977 Grands Prix Category:French Grand Prix Category:Formula One races in France